Passport of 9/11 Suspect Found in Pakistan

According to CNN, a passport bearing the name of Said Bahaji, a suspect linked to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, has been found in a town captured by the Pakistani military. Bahaji, was the main logistics supporter of the 9/11 attackers, paying their rent and telephone bills, according to the authorities. The passport was found in South Waziristan, where the Pakistani military has been attempting to wrestle territory from the Taliban. It contained a Pakistani visa issued in August 2001 showing that the bearer entered Pakistan on Sept. 4, 2001. The photo in the passport resembles images of Bahaji and shows a clean-cut man wearing a red sweater. CNN's Reza Sayah saw the passport, along with other documents, during a trip to South Waziristan for journalists run by the Pakistani military. The trip was the first time the army had taken journalists into the region since the offensive against the Taliban began on Oct. 17, he said. Surprisingly, Pakistani military spokesman Gen. Athar Abbas was not aware of the passport until reporters asked him about it. According to CNN, Bahaji, 34, is alleged to have been a member of the Hamburg, Germany-based cell which provided monetary support to the hijackers who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks. He is wanted in both Germany and Spain on terrorism charges. He lived with one of the leaders of the hijackers, Mohammed Atta, in Germany before the attacks, according to the Sept. 11 report. He is technically considered a German citizen of Moroccan descent. A U.S. counterterrorism official has stated only that Bahaji is a senior propagandist for al Qaeda who had ties to some of the Sept. 11 hijackers, and therefore is very much of interest to the United States. According to CNN, Bahaji's name appeared in the Sept. 11 Commission Report. Additionally, he is described as an insecure follower with no personality, as well as limited knowledge of Islam. Nonetheless he "professed his readiness to engage in violence."